Hunters looking for a chance to check a Kentucky elk
hunting adventure off their bucket list have until midnight (Eastern time)
April 30 to enter this year’s quota hunt drawing. Completing the online
application at fw.ky.gov well
ahead of time is encouraged to avoid the expected last-minute rush.

Kentucky residents and those living out-of-state are
eligible to apply for as many as two of the four permit types but can only be
drawn for one. Each application costs $10.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will issue 1,000 general
quota hunt permits and 10 youth permits this year through a random computer
drawing conducted in early May by the Kentucky Commonwealth Office of Technology.
Results will be posted online at fw.ky.gov.

Kentucky’s elk herd is the largest east of the Rocky
Mountains and more than all the states east of the Mississippi River combined.
The elk restoration zone in southeast Kentucky covers 16 counties and more than
4 million acres.

Eighty-eight percent of bull elk hunters using a gun
last year enjoyed a successful hunt, while 69 percent of the hunters utilizing
archery equipment successfully harvested a bull. The success rate for cow
archery hunters was 46 percent last year but almost 78 percent among hunters
using a firearm for cow elk.

“I think hunters will find this year to be very similar
to last year,” Brunjes said. “You are going to have to work for it. You may not
be able to go out opening morning, harvest your elk and be on the road by noon.

“The elk are there but some of the old cows that are
leading these herds have been through 13 seasons now. I would encourage anyone
who is truly a passionate bow hunter looking for a test to put in for that cow
elk archery tag because you will earn that cow elk.”

The season limit of 250 bulls and 750 cow elk is
unchanged from last year, as is the allotment among tag types.

Demand is greatest for the bull firearms permit and
lowest for the cow archery hunts.

Kentucky residents applying for a cow archery tag had a
1 in 13 chance of being drawn last year compared to 1 in 134 for bull firearms.

The bull elk firearms seasons are spread over two
separate, weeklong hunts in October while the cow elk firearms seasons are
split into two weeklong hunts in December.

A special bull archery season opens before the firearms
season.

Hunters ages 15 and younger can apply for the youth-only
quota hunt during the same application period as the general elk quota hunt
drawing. They may also apply for the general quota elk hunt drawing, but cannot
be drawn for both in the same year.

“The youth-only option does not appear until the child’s
birthday is entered in the drawing application process,” Brunjes said. “The
youth permit is good during all seasons and it’s an either-sex permit. There’s
more opportunity to hunt with that permit.”